Why might GLORIA prove a hit with UK audiences?

Ditch the stereotypical obsession with zimmer frames, stair lifts, memory loss and mortality. It is the film about a 50-something woman starring an unknown teacher which captured the imagination of the jury and cinema-goers alike at the 63rd Berlin Film Festival earlier this year resulting in Paulina Garcia winning the coveted Best Actress award.

In the film, which has a UK release on November 1st, Paulina Garcia plays a 50-something divorcee on a journey of self-discovery. She fills her nights seeking love in ballrooms and making a party out of her solitude. Part of the universality of GLORIA is that modern day Chile could be any modern day city including any in the UK. The phenomenon of ‘silver splitters’ – people over 50 who are divorced or separated has increased by over a third in a decade. According to marriage charity Relate, those born between 1946 and 1964 will be the first generation for whom living alone is the norm in old age due to the rising divorce rate in the UK.

GLORIA touches on many themes relevant to a UK mature audience, and is the reason the distributor asked the Mature Marketing Association to help promote it.

With the significant growth in older people visiting UK cinemas, GLORIA may well prove to be an independent cinema hit not just with women but with an older audience. Recent BFI research shows that in 2012 the proportion of over 45s in UK cinemas increased to 36%. The over 45s are also said to make up more than 50% of independent cinema audiences.

There are now an increasingly large number of economically and socially active older consumers, who do not conform to outmoded assumptions and stereotypes. However, many businesses and organisations have yet to optimise their alignment with this strategically important group.

At the MMA we believe that mature marketing – with its more inclusive and age-friendly approach – will enable businesses to engage more effectively with older consumers. This is why we are delighted to be working with Action Age Alliance.

So what has made the film such a hit with cinemagoers that a Chilean film is opening in 45 countries? The Berlin Festival jury who awarded Garcia the Silver Bear commended the film, “for its refreshing and contagious plea that life is a celebration to which we are all invited, regardless of age or condition, and that its complexities only add to the challenge to live it in full.”

Gloria is a film about the 50-somethings single scene with a female character inspired by Rocky Balboa. This intoxicating combination may well be what has enamoured critics and audiences alike worldwide.

Kevin Lavery, Vice-Chairman, Mature Marketing Association (MMA)

**** Time Out **** Empire

**** The Arts Desk **** Total Film **** HeyUGuys

“Paulina Garcia is quite wonderful” Screen International

**** “Splendid” Daily Telegraph

Mike McCahill @mike_mccahillWatching PaulinaGarcia tonight in GLORIA reminded me of watching Tilda Swinton in JULIA. A Very Good Thing.

Anton Bitel @AntBitGLORIA: middle-aged eponym’s struggle to define a future while still shackled to past allegorises Chile. Great lead perf, plus disco! ‪#lff

Patrick Gamble @PatrickJGamble GLORIA ★★★★☆ one of the most enjoyable and heartwarming films of the year ‪#LFF

Award-winning actress Paulina Garcia will be in the UK to promote special preview screenings of GLORIA (15) followed by a Q&A:

Manchester Cornerhouse – Wednesday 23 October

London’s Curzon Soho and Ritzy Brixton – Thursday 24 October

Oxford’s Phoenix Picturehouse – Friday 25 October.

Paulina Garcia won the Silver Bear award for ‘Best Actress’ at Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Her visit to the UK follows this year’s London Film Festival (LFF) which hosted the UK premiere of GLORIA, including two sold out screenings, and the announcement that GLORIA will be Chile’s official entry into the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category for the 2014 Oscars.

GLORIA will be released at cinemas nationwide on 1 November 2013, courtesy of Network Releasing.